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What do you think about the lineup for this year’s NOLA Jazz Festival? The good news is if you missed Pearl Jam at ACL last year, they’re headlining. And if you missed Lionel Richie at any point over the last 30 years you can see him too. Austin’s own Marcia Ball will be performing the first weeekend as well as Simon and Garfunkel, My Morning Jacket and The Black Crowes. (I was able to see The Black Crowes at Rothbury last summer and they’re awesome live.)

The second weekend offers much more for my taste with Richie Havens, Elvis Costello, Band of Horses, Old Crow Medicine Show, Gipsy Kings, the list goes on and on. Click here to see the complete line up.

Let us know if you like the list and if you’ll be making the trip to the birthplace of jazz to see it for yourself.

Festival dates-

Weekend 1: April 23-25

Weekend 2: April 29-May 2

Have you heard about Gossip? This band is better than the rumors.

I first heard this Oregon-based group on Sirius radio and immediately downloaded several of their songs from iTunes. They have an awesome dance/ rock sound that blends Blondie, Janis Joplin and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and makes every day better. My favorite song right now is ‘Heavy Cross;’ perfect for singing, running, dancing, you name it. For a great play list, look for them on Pandora.

Looking forward to more Gossip in 2010… and possibly an American tour?

Ok so I know there are a million bands on the line-up for this weekend’s Fun Fun Fun festival but there is one band you cannot miss…Austin’s very own, L.A.X.

Believe it or not, I had never even heard of this band until last week. I was at a Cherrypeel Halloween party Sweet Leaf Tea sponsored at The Mohawk. I had a couple of friends say they really liked this band and the review on the party website made them sound awesome. They more than blew away my high expectations starting with their first song. By the time they played my favorite, “Pump to the Beat” I was so into the set and so was the rest of the crowd. I don’t think one person crammed in front of the tiny stage wasn’t dancing their a$$ off.  I had not planned on staying out late since I had work the next day but they were worth every bit of hurt I felt in the morning.

With all six members bringing their own creativity they put out an amazing sound with something for everyone. They mix house with R&B with pop. It is truly amazing!

So put your dance pants on and meet me at the Blue Stage, Saturday at 1 o’clock. Trust me, L.A.X. will not disappoint.

Wow.

Is it really already November? Where did the year go? Seems like it was only yesterday that SXSW graced us with its madness. Nonetheless, beautiful fall weather with manageable temperatures means that it is, indeed, time for some Fun Fun Fun.

Fun Fun Fun Fest is inevitably one of my favorite festivals for several reasons — it’s conveniently held in Austin of which I call home, the lineup is always a splurge of goodness, and it rounds out my festival season for the year before a few months of ‘down time’ in the industry.

90+ bands on four stages packed into two days is a tough proposition for any music head. I’m not gonna lie when I say that I honestly don’t know 80% of the bands on the bill, but I think that’s what interests me the most. FFF offers an opportunity to discover new musical talent/obsessions, and that’s the primary reason I would recommend going. Plus, there’s always a good slew of local vendors to check out offering some atypical festival eats and souvenirs. They’re gonna have some comedians and a skate ramp, too. Rad. Fingers crossed for comedians on said skate ramp.

As for the bands that I do recognize, here’s some top picks from my personal schedule:

L.A.X. The best way to describe them is as an Austin-based dance band, an interesting combo of House/R&B/Pop. Lead vocal Andrew Collin’s stage presence is intense, so bring your dancing shoes and be ready to be entertained.

Black and White Years Their continuing success in Austin and beyond is no coincidence — their live set is just as good (if not better) than their studio work, and you better believe they know how to move a crowd. Their sound is addicting, and has been described by the Austinist as “genre-blurring, squiggly synth rock” “Difficult to classify” “The Black and White Years aren’t what you’ve heard before, evenly spiking their take on contemporary rock with enough surprises to keep their debut interesting for multiple listens.” For lack of better words, I concur wholeheartedly.

Astronautalis The first time I saw Andy Bothwell perform was at the Bird’s Barbershop Grand Opening party for their SoCo location, and after seeing this guy get on the stage and set up for his set, I was completely flabbergasted. But it was a good surprise. Refreshing and addictive.

Harlem Another local Austin band with a strong following. They’ve got a lo-fi punk garage rock feel that I looooove. They have a way of making my soul twitch.

Yeasayer Self-described as “Middle Eastern-psych-snap-gospel”, I can’t get enough of these guys. Based in Brooklyn, they have a funky feel that just makes ya feel goooood. Still haven’t seen ‘em live, so I’m excited to see what they can bring to the stage — if it’s anything half as good as their studio stuff, I’m in love.

Ratatat Their live set has some intense visuals, but their sound is almost identical to the album (as to be expected). Dance-y electronic Tetris-party kind of stuff.  Regardless, still a fun time to cut some rugs.

of Montreal This band is just plain bizarre, but that’s what makes their live set so much fun.  Pure entertainment on stage.

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Thanks to everyone who entered our SWEET E-SCAVENGER HUNT!  We had a great response, and we’ve finally picked our winners!  Congrats to Christopher Alghini and Sydney Drost, who won a pair of general admission passes each to Fun Fun Fun Fest, and Brooke Marcus, who won a pair of ‘Pretty Important Person (PIP)’ passes!

For those of you heading out to Fun Fun Fun Fest this weekend, be sure to look out for us at the Sweet Leaf Tea booth — we’ll be dishing out samples of our whole lineup, giving away some sweet swag, and running a text-to-win contest for a Gibson Guitar signed by FFFFest artists.

Until next time, rock on.

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